The Magic Mirror
by AMarguerite
Summary: When Telemain comes to visit bering Morwen a present, things are running normally. Except for the fact that there is now a Magic Mirror thief in the Enchanted Forest. This takes place between Books 2 and 3. Not finished and probably will never be.
1. In Which Morwen Cleans and It Snows

A/N: This takes place between Book Two, _Calling for Dragons_, and Book Three, _Calling on Dragons_.      

Morwen began scrubbing the floor of the kitchen with a sponge and some soapy water.  Scorn licked a paw disdainfully, while Fiddlesticks and Miss Eliza trotted through the door.

"I'm hungry.  Is there food in here?  Is there fish in here?" Fiddlesticks asked hopefully.  Morwen worked the sponge over a slightly sticky patch of floor.

"You can see there isn't," Scorn drawled condescendingly.  

Fiddlesticks crouched on the floor unhappily.  "I was just hoping there were some, somewhere.  I'm hungry.  Are you sure there's no fish?"  

Morwen let the sponge absorb more water and soap, then set to cleaning again.  "You had fish for dinner last night," Morwen reminded him, concentrating on her work.  "And, Scorn, be nice."

Miss Elisa began to wash her tail primly.  "Morwen, Jasper overheard some knight in the forest talk about snow."

Morwen didn't look up from her task.  "Did he, now.  Miss Eliza, would you mind taking a look at the sky?"

Scorn stretched, flexing her claws almost lazily.  "I'll do it Morwen," she announced in a bored sort of manner.  Scorn stalked out the doorway imperiously, letting a blast of cold wind in, as well as Aunt Ophelia and Chaos.

"It's freezing out there," Aunt Ophelia sniffed.  "Even a fire-witch would be cold."  Chaos made a soft sound of agreement, and then began to wash his face meticulously.  

Miss Eliza paused mid-lick to look at Morwen.  "Are you almost done, there?" 

Morwen began to scrub quickly, but with no less ferocity or precision.  "About half-way."

Scorn stalked in a moment later, Trouble, Jasper, and Murgatroyd following close behind.

"Is it snowing?" Chaos asked, sounding worried.  "My apple tree's alright, isn't it?"  Trouble gave a wide yawn, and rubbed his face on Morwen's bucket of water.  The bucket tumbled over, and splashed Murgatroyd in the face.  

"That was not a smart thing to do," Morwen reprimanded Trouble.  She began to clean even faster then before, as the water was covering nearly the entire floor.  

"I'm wet," Murgatroyd hissed.  "Trouble, you are in so much trouble!"

Jasmine flowed through the door effortlessly, and perched on a window sill.  The other cats, getting the idea, scrambled up to the unoccupied windowsills, and the large square trunk next to the wall.  Fiddlesticks and Trouble were left squatting on the benches by the table uncomfortably.  Scorn took a nap on the table.  

Moments later, Morwen had dried the small lake, scolded Trouble, and put away all her cleaning supplies.  The floor looked spotless when Morwen stepped back into it.  

"Now, what's all this I hear about snow?"  Morwen demanded, rolling down the sleeves of her robe.  

"See for yourself," Jasper yawned, setting his head on his folded paws.  Morwen padded towards the window, footsteps as soft as any of her cats', and looked outside the window Jasper was snoozing in.  Large crystalline flakes fell from the sky, twirling on small eddies of wind.  Morwen was glad she'd gathered the apples from her apple trees last week.  She was just resolving to make some more cider from the apples when she spotted someone outside in the snow.  

"Morwen, there's someone outside," Jasmine proclaimed lazily.

"I can see that," Morwen replied, hurrying toward the back door.  "Who is it?"

Jasmine stretched nonchalantly, and began to lick the base of her tail.  "I can't see them too well."

"They've got their cloak over their face," Miss Eliza added.  "But they're obviously not a witch or some knight.  Knights usually don't have enough sense to bring a cloak.  Neither do most princesses."

Morwen opened the back door, and the cats threw her various annoyed looks as the gusts of wind blew coldly into the room.  Morwen could see the person wasn't carrying a staff, and so wasn't a wizard.

"Are you alright?" Morgan called, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"A little cold, perhaps," the stranger yelled back.  "But am I a bit of a surprise?"

Morwen sighed wearily, and awaited the "stranger" as they approached her house.

Okay!  Next chapter, find out who the "stranger" is, and what news they bring.  Reviews are always welcome.J


	2. In Which Morwen Learns of A Strange Thie...

A/N:  I, uh, forgot this beforehand, but… I do not own any book series, sorry.  And The Enchanted Forest Chronicles belongs to Patricia C. Wrede, not me.  This chapter's dedicated to Queen Cimorene, my lone reviewer.

Morwen opened her door to let the "stranger" inside, to a chorus of angry yowls from her cats.

"Telemain," Morwen said exasperatedly.  "Why are you walking through the snow?"

Telemain readjusted the weight of a package he was carrying.  "I really haven't seen where you lived, and it wouldn't really be a wise idea to teleport to someplace I didn't know… would it?  Though that would be a fascinating bit of experimentation, in a control group, investigational faction, and several set destinations," he mused vaguely.

Morwen repressed another sigh.  "Well, come in before the snow gets too deep to even walk."

"He's in rare form today," Aunt Ophelia commented acidly.  

"Indeed," yawned Jasper.  He sounded half-asleep.

Telemain climbed up the steps without really seeming to notice.  He was clutching a large circular package wrapped in brown paper.

"What's that?" Morwen asked.  The cats mewled out their curiosity. 

Telemain snapped out of his musings.  "What?"

Morwen rolled her eyes, and held the door open wider for Telemain.  "Come in." 

Telemain went through the door, and placed the package on the table, next to Scorn.

"I was sleeping there, you buffoon," Scorn snapped, nearly glowing with feline indignity.  

"Hello," Telemain said politely.  Morwen was again thankful for the fact others couldn't hear what her cats said… not for the first or last time.

"Be polite, Scorn," Morwen insisted, shutting the door and marching briskly to a cupboard on the wall.  She began rummaging through it, and pulled out a jug of cider and two mugs.  "And off the table, you know you're not allowed."  

"Well, Morwen, I've brought you a bit of a present," Telemain announced, ignoring the cat.  "But you'll have to be careful with it; some man has a fetish for these kinds of things, and has been stealing them all over the Enchanted Forest."

"What do you mean?" Morwen inquired, frowning.  "I haven't heard that yet."  She put down the two mugs on the table space not occupied by Scorn or the gift, and poured cider into them. 

Telemain shook his head.  "It's rather strange, really.  All over the Enchanted Forest, magic mirrors are going missing, and they always see the same person fleeing the scene of the crime."

"How do they know it's the same person?  And drink your cider, Telemain."  Morwen sat down at one of the chairs at the table, and sipped at her cup of her cider.

Telemain picked up the mug, but didn't seem to focus on it, preferring, instead to talk to Morwen.  "Well, his costume's rather distinctive.  As far as I've heard, it's around the same lime green as Gypsy Jack's caravan."

"Who?" questioned Fiddlesticks.  "Does he have fish? What's lime green?  Would he like me?"

"He wouldn't like you," Trouble informed him.  "You talk too much." 

Morwen put her mug down.  "Lime green?"

Telemain nodded.  "With, uh, rather vibrant gold splotches." He took a mouthful of Morwen's cider and swallowed.  "This is really good!"

"Thank you," Morwen said, feeling rather pleased and somewhat smug.  "I make it myself."

Telemain drank down the rest of his cider, and Morwen poured him another glass.

"What's in the package?" Murgatroyd mewed.  "It's just taking up too much space."

"And I was napping there," Scorn added, hunching up in a corner of the table.  Morwen raised her eyebrow at the cat, as if to say, "what-part-of-you're-not-allowed-on-the-table-under-any-circumstances-don't-you-understand?"  Scorn licked her tail coolly, and hopped off the table, muttering that it was too crowed there, anyways.

Telemain put down his mug.  "Well, are you going to open it?"

"Finally," Aunt Ophelia sniffed.  "He's said something worth saying."

Morwen shot her cats a glare, and undid the wrapping on the package.  Inside was a magic mirror, with a rather gaudy and ornate frame.  "It's…."

"You like it?  I premeditated the enchantments on the magic reflector device, and designed the caller overhaul to be courteous and efficient.  It's state of the art!" 

"Well, thank you," Morwen replied.  "It looks like it's certainly an improvement over the one I used to have."  Trouble tried his best to look innocent.  

Morwen glanced outside the window, and saw that the snow had nearly piled up to the window pane.  "Telemain, I trust you'll be staying for dinner?"

Telemain looked a little bit startled.  "Well… if you insist."

Jasmine yawned.  "We haven't been that bad, Morwen."

Okay… tune in next time to find out what happens next!  As always, reviews are welcome!


	3. In Which Telemain Talks And There Is Ano...

A/N:  Wee!  Reviewers!  *throws roses to Aurora, GroovyGirlHP, and Sylvia Viridian* Thanks for your reviews!  And, as before, I don't happen to own the copyright for a book series, sorry.

Morwen stirred a pot of beef soup, as Telemain enlightened her on how he managed to enchant the mirror.  

"It's not particularly multifarious," he explained eagerly, cider abandoned on the table.  "Just a straightforward spell for the transfiguration of a substance with some sort of assets to emulate images, into that of an object able to transmit messages to other objects with the same base properties!"

Fiddlesticks looked confused.  "What did he say?  Was he talking about fish?  Can I have fish?  I think fish is nice.   Morwen, will you make us fish?"

Trouble looked up from his investigation of the brown paper Telemain had wrapped the mirror in.  "We had fish for dinner last night," Trouble informed Fiddlesticks.  "Besides, you talk too much."

"Something about the magic mirror," Jasmine yawned lazily.  "And we're not having fish."

"Can't you let a gentleman have a bit of uninterrupted sleep?" Jasper demanded, curled into a ball on one of the windowsills.

Morwen sampled the stew.  "I hope beef stew is alright with you, Telemain?"  She pulled a bottle of spices from out of a cupboard over the stove, and dashed some of it in. 

Telemain stopped his explanation. "Oh, yes.  That's fine."

"It's not fish, Fiddlesticks," Murgatroyd announced.  "Like Jasmine said."

Jasmine blinked slowly, not really seeming to want to move. 

"But it doesn't acquire an extended quantity of time to enchant the mirror," Telemain continued on obliviously.

"He must be losing his touch," Scorn commented in a bored tone of voice.  "I actually understood that one." 

Miss Eliza licked a paw gracefully, then proclaimed, "Morwen, there's someone else coming."

Morwen frowned, and pulled two bowls out of a different cupboard.  "Excuse me a moment, Telemain, but the cats say there's someone coming to the door."

Telemain stopped speaking a moment, and then asked, "Well, who is it?"

Morwen wiped her glasses on the sleeve of her robe, placed them back on the bridge of her nose, and peered out the window.  

"It's probably a lost knight or something," Chaos meowed dismissively.  "Now, more importantly, how is my apple tree?"

"Telemain, the Magic mirror thief," Morwen started.

"Him?" Telemain looked into his glass of cider, and then took a sip.  "No one knows who he is, really, but he always comes in the guise of a traveler, or something, like that."

Morwen frowned out the window.  "Aunt Ophelia, can you see who it is?"

Aunt Ophelia scrutinized the falling snow.  "No, Morwen.  They're too far away."

Morwen sighed, and pulled another bowl out of the cupboard.  "Telemain, would you mind moving that?"  Morwen waved a hand at the mirror.

Telemain nodded, and carefully leaned the mirror against the wall.  Morwen got spoons out of a drawer, and set up the table.  

Jasper sneezed.  Morwen turned to look at him.  "Aren't you forgetting something?" he hinted.

Morwen raised an eyebrow.  "No.  You will get your dinner, though.  I'm just setting up food for the guests first."  She pulled several large pans out of her cupboards, and set them on a counter near the stove.  Telemain looked hopefully into his glass of cider.  

Morwen waved a hand at the jug of cider on the table.  "Just help yourself Telemain, while I get dinner ready.'

"So there's no fish?" Fiddlesticks questioned sadly.  "Just beef?  Will we get milk too?  Or just water?  Haven't we been good enough to get milk today?"

"You won't," Trouble snapped, trotting over to Morwen.  "You talk too much."  

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door.  Telemain looked curious, and drank some more cider.  

Morwen opened the door.    

Tune in next time to find out… who's at the door!  Reviews are always very nice, just remember that.     


	4. In Which There Is Dinner And A Knight Wi...

A/N:  You know the drill.  No, I don't own the Enchanted Forest Series.  I'm writing this because I think its fun.  Thanks to my lovely reviewers.  I can't tell you how much I love see those enjoyable reviews next to my story.

Morwen was slightly surprised.  Outside there was a knight in rusted armor with a large red chicken painted on the front of it.  The cats glanced at him nonchalantly, then went back to whatever they were doing.  Telemain craned his neck to see who the new guest was, then glanced down into his mug of cider, to see how much he had left.  

"Hallo," the knight creaked.  "It's blasted cold out here.  Mind if I come in ma'am?"

"He doesn't look dangerous," Fiddlesticks informed Morwen.  "He's got a chicken on his armor.  Is that because he likes chicken? Or does his family raise chickens?  Chickens don't like me very much Morwen."

"It's because you talk too much," Trouble explained, going back to the brown paper.

"Come in, then," Morwen responded, shooting a glare to her cats.

"Thanks for getting rid of the cream tonight," Scorn snapped.  

Morwen cleared her throat at the cats, and showed the slightly rusted knight to a seat.

Telemain examined the knight again.  "What was your name?"

"Oh, so sorry," the knight apologized, trying to find a way to sit down.  "My name is, uh… Rooster."

Telemain carefully moved the magic mirror out of sight.  "Right.  May I ask why there's a chicken on your breast-plate?"  Morwen took the stew off the stove and placed it on a counter, to a few tiny mews from her cats.

The knight drew out a can of oil, and oiled the knee joints in his armor.  "Alright.  It's a, uh, family emblem.  My, uh, dad was never very brave.  It got around, and they, uh, made father change the family crest to that of a chicken.  Seemed to think it was, uh, appropriate."

Morwen hid a smile as she dished out some food for her cats.  The cats poured around her ankles, purring quite happily. 

The knight pulled off his helmet.  "May I ask who you two are?  And are these all your cats?"

"I'm Morwen," Morwen introduced herself.  "And yes these are my cats."

"I'm Telemain," Telemain concluded, scrutinizing the man's face.  "Have I seen you somewhere before."

"I don't recognize the name, 'Telemain'," Sir Rooster muttered after a moment.  "And I think I'd remember your wife and all her cats."

Telemain turned an interesting shade of rose.  He managed to get out, "We're, not, um, married."  

"We're just old friends," Morwen clarified.  Her cats snickered derisively, and then, once she glared at them, resumed eating their dinner.  

"Ah," the knight responded, looking hungrily at the pot of stew Morwen was holding.  She set it down on the table with a loaf of bread, and Sir Rooster dug into the food eagerly.  "Why d'you have so many cats?"  he questioned through slurps of stew.  

"I'm a witch," Morwen replied, spooning herself stew from the pot.  

Telemain looked quizzically at Sir Rooster.  "And I'm a magician.  Are you sure we haven't seen each other somewhere before?"

Sir Rooster shifted in his seat and shoveled stew into his mouth quicker. Telemain took the stew from Morwen, who seemed surprised Sir Rooster liked her soup so much.  

Sir Rooster looked up after a moment, to see the mirror Telemain had brought Morwen.  "I-is that a magic mirror?" he breathed in awe.  

A look of realization dawned on Telemain's face.  "Yes."

Okay.  Next chapter, find out who Sir Rooster really is, and watch the cats make fun of him.  Reviews are the life-blood of this story however.  *hint, hint*        


	5. In Which the Cats Are Exceedingly Sarcas...

A/N:  Sorry for the delay!  I haven't been feeling awfully inspired lately.  Apologies to my poor readers.  

Disclaimer:  No, I don't own a book series.  Though I have now abducted Morwen's cats to be my muses.  Mwahahahahahaha.  No, really.  I don't own the Enchanted Forest Series.

"You're the Magic Mirror Thief, aren't you?" Telemain accused, pointing at "Sir Rooster" with a piece of bread.

"If so, that was a really pathetic attempt at disguising himself," Miss Elisa remarked snippily, to which Aunt Ophelia mewed in agreement.

The knight drew off his helmet.  "Well, yeah."

Morwen sighed.  "Well, I suppose you're right, Miss Elisa."

"What does 'disguising' mean?"  Fiddlesticks interrupted.  "Does it mean 'fish'?  Can I have fish?  Morwen, I'm hungry.  I want to eat.  Would the Magic Mirror Thief give me fish?"

Trouble looked up from his meal.  "No.  You talk too much.  Besides, we're eating dinner right now."

The Magic Mirror Thief gave a creak, and attempted to pull off the rusty armor.  "Um… a little help please?"  Telemain shot the thief a glare, and moved in front of his magic mirror protectively.  

"You can tell that this thief's an intelligent one, can't you?" Scorn questioned, sarcasm practically oozing from her voice.

Jasmine stretched lazily.  "Quite stupid, to ask help from the person you're going to rob."

Chaos glanced outside.  "If he even thinks of trying to hurt my apple tree…."

Murgatroyd hissed in annoyance.  "He's too loud."  

The Magic Mirror Thief gave one final clank, and stood up proudly.  "I, Bob the Magic Mirror Thief, have come to steal your magic mirror."

"No really," Miss Elisa drawled.  "I thought you wanted to take the silverware."

"Yeah, I just can't imagine a Magic Mirror Thief stealing, of all things, a magic mirror!"  Scorn exclaimed sardonically.

 Morwen  brought her hands up and proclaimed loudly,

"Fire, earth, and raging sands,

Stop that creature where he stands." (A/N:  Yes, I know that wasn't the spell, but I can't find my copy of _Calling on Dragons.  So sue me.  On second thought, don't.)  Morwen brought her hands down and pointed at Bob the Magic Mirror Thief.  He froze in place._

Jasper gave a drowsy snort.  "Can't a gentleman get any sleep around here without spells being flung all over the place?"

Morwen glanced at him.  "I'm trying to stop a magic mirror thief without getting anything over my nice, clean kitchen floor.  If you have any better ideas-"

Jasper gave an impressive yawn, making sure that Bob, who was trying to reach behind Telemain to get to the mirror, could see everyone of the cat's sharp, pointy teeth.  "If I wasn't napping, I would have a solution…."

Bob paled.  "Please!  The magic mirror!  I've got a collection at home, and I just need a couple more to make it a round one hundred."

Aunt Ophelia sharpened her claws on Bob's pants leg.  "Oh, so sorry to keep your collection short, but you are a moron."  

Telemain apprehensively stepped away from the magic mirror, and looked at Morwen.  "Should we teleport to the castle, and let Cimorene and Mendenbar have a look at, uh… Bob, here?"     

If Scorn could, she would've rolled her eyes.  "Finally.  The first intelligent thing he's said almost all day."

Yeah.  Next chappie Cimorene and Mendenbar make their grand, well, not so grand entrance. And Telemain does some magic.  Don't expect it to be up very soon, because I'm going on vacation for a week.    

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V  Reviews are very nice indeed!  


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